Thursday, 7 June 2012

'Overseas'


Is there such a thing as blog etiquette? Am I allowed to blog out of sequence?
The reason I ask is because for the past 7 weeks I have not been in New Zealand.  I’ve spent most of it in the UK, as many of you will know because I’ve been able to see you or speak to you, or you’ve seen postings on Facebook!  Hence the lack of any blogging.  And hence my question.  You see, I know that there are still several things I’ve yet to blog about from Feb/March, but I’d like to reflect on these past few weeks whilst they’re still fresh in my mind….  Hope that’s OK.

It is a strange experience, returning after 7½ months away.  The house gently folds itself around me, as if to say, ‘ah, you’re back at last’.  I notice how much stuff there is everywhere after our pared down living in St Heliers.  I wander from room to room letting each one claim me anew.  It is all immediately so familiar and beloved.  Thanks to Peter, our wonderful neighbour, all is in good order.  The Aga is already on (ah, the bliss of the Aga…) and after a quick trip to Tesco in Tiptree, I’m all set.

Then it’s catch-up time.  The first hugs and hellos (with neighbours Peter and Dianne), in Fred’s store (Marion and Linda), the butcher’s (Ian and Jo), the church (everyone!).  It’s exciting and joyful.  But more than that, it all feels so natural, as if I’ve not been away at all.  I find myself recalling long-ago scenes from Dallas, when a whole series without Bobby Ewing is explained as ‘just a bad dream’.  Has life in New Zealand been just a dream?  Is it real?  Well, of course it's real (and I have the blogs to prove it, don't I?) but that feeling continues throughout the weeks, until I begin to accept that both are real and are in effect parallel lives that can co-exist comfortably, and that is just the way it is.

The emotional impact of seeing so many beloved faces is both joyful and tiring.  Then there are the numerous jobs that need doing – house and garden husbandry, admin, servicing of cars/boiler, plumbing requirements.  The days slip by.  Reunions with family feature high on the agenda.  First night back with sister Anna and David, and of course Louisa; first weekend with Philly and Louisa.  Then it’s more friends - tennis with the gang, Anna, Gill and Bev (great fun); coffee with Mandy; a spa day with Anne Harvey (we talk for 7 hours); a day in London at the NMM, which includes lunch with the Queen (we don’t get to talk at all); a day in Colchester catching up with vicar friends Gill, Jeremy and Rosie, and Janine; an evening at vicar school, with the other gang, including both Jane Williams (wife of Rowan, one of my former lecturers) and Bishop Stephen (who reminds me that I’m only ‘on loan’ to St Philip’s). Both of these, I discover, will be coming out to Auckland in October as part of the worldwide Anglican Consultative Council! There’s a treat in store - for them and for me...

And then Roy is home, and somehow the pace goes up a gear.  The next 10 days pass in a whirl - lunches, dinners, trips to London, hedge-cutting, fence-painting, and for me a Deacons' evening and the chance to visit Rob Kean's two churches over near Braintree, in the floods! 

Finally we begin our proper ‘holiday’ with family.  To Robbie for 2 days, which includes Sunday roast with Mat and Liz over from Oklahoma.  Then to Center Parcs at Longleat, via lunch in Saltford to admire the results of Oliver and Gillian’s hard work in their now-carpeted and painted home, where we are joined by both our girls. 

It rains, a lot.  In fact, for a drought, it is remarkably wet for my first 5 weeks! Undaunted we throw ourselves into CP activities.  The rapids in the swimming pool remain a highlight (as do our BBQ with umbrellas and the Scrabble tournament), but probably the prize goes to the intrepid four who brave the Aerial Adventure: Louisa’s ‘I’m going to die!’ will ring long in my ears…..  


[About 100' up in the swaying trees: left to right, Gillian, Louisa, CP guy who coaxed Louisa on, and Oliver]


[A game of crazy 'medieval' golf, when it wasn't raining]

The holiday concludes with a family weekend in Tollesbury (via a 3-car trip to see Philly’s new house-share in north London – spacious!).  It’s lovely and funny and special, as always.

All too soon Roy flies back after an action-packed 17 days.  And then it’s time for Anna and me to embark together on our 3rd annual trip to the west country.  Batcombe first stop, to see sister Sue, Oscar and Imogen (last seen by me in St Heliers just before Christmas); Budleigh Salterton follows, a night in an elegant Edwardian guest house; then to Dartmouth and an uproarious late night with Janet Raby; onto Cornwall, via a surprise lunch with Jo and Nigel Owen (well, we did turn up unexpectedly – I’m not sure who was more surprised…), and Devoran, with cousin Ally and Chris, where we feel so very much at home.  And the sun comes out!  The perfect setting for spending time with Cornish cousins.

So many people to see, so much catching up to do.  But it’s important to have time to slow down and relax, too.  For our last 2 nights we find an old-fashioned hotel on the north Devon coast, in Mortehoe.  It has an indoor swimming pool, and a stunning view of rugged coast and crashing surf. 


[The view from the balcony of our hotel, The Watersmeet, in Mortehoe]

We walk round Morte Point, stopping to watch stonechats and curlew, skylarks and a fat basking seal.  The sky is blue above, the church medieval, the pub not much younger.  Time at last slows down….
We drive back through rolling Devonian hills lush with Spring colours, singing along to the Beatles, and on through the counties that get ever busier until we return to Surrey, and a happy family supper with Louisa and David.

A week left and the goodbyes now begin.  A final weekend with the girls filled with hugs.  The sun blazes down both days and we sit in the garden and chat and laugh.  I preach at St Mary’s and feel the warmth of the Tollesbury church family embrace me again.  I want the clock to stop, and yet I know it must tick on.  Then it’s London again, this time to see Adrienne over lunch in the Royal Exchange; lunch in Marks Tey to say goodbye to Anne and  a last trip to Chelmsford to hug Mandy.  One last game of tennis, and somehow I squeeze in coffee with Carolyn and tea with Angela whilst also getting the boiler and car serviced.

And now it’s time to clean and pack, neither of which I have any desire to do, both of which are essential.  I make it bearable by walking round the sea wall before breakfast, drinking coffee at the Lighthouse with Marion, Sylvia and others, and then a rare treat – ringing handbells with my old friends in the church tower.  I seem to be getting through rather a lot of handkerchiefs…  The day concludes with a splendid last supper with Peter and Dianne, whose kindness and hospitality are legendary. 

The taxi comes at 0745 the next morning.  Peter is there to see me off; I need several more hankies. It has been very special to be home again.  It is unexpectedly hard to leave behind this life once more, even though the other life is full of good things too, even though I can’t wait to see Roy again … 

And so I leave, San Francisco next stop.  More of that in my next blog : )

Thank you to everyone who made my trip home so lovely – for all the hugs, shared meals, laughter, tears,  fellowship and encouragement. Apologies to all those I didn't get to see; perhaps this blog will give an idea of just how busy those weeks were. 

See you next year!



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